WKU men’s basketball unofficially started the season Sunday, hosting the University of Alabama at Birmingham in an exhibition match at Diddle Arena, where a second half surge carried the Blazers to a 88-79 victory.
“Not exactly the result we were hoping for here tonight,” Head Coach Hank Plona said. “I would tell you when we put this game on the schedule about three or four months ago, we did it with the thought this could be what happened. It’s better to happen in game zero.”
Both teams came out slow in the first half. UAB shot 37.1% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Despite these shooting percentages, what kept the Blazers ahead was their rebounding and defense. UAB had nine offensive rebounds compared to zero for the Hilltoppers and they out-rebounded WKU 24-22 in the first half.
Nine first half turnovers for WKU turned into 13 UAB points, while WKU cashed in just two points off of three Blazer turnovers. The Hilltoppers shot 43.3% from the field, but 28.6% from three-point territory. Senior guard Don McHenry led the team with 11 points in the first half. Senior forward Babacar Faye had eight points.
One of the notable things that kept WKU close in the first half was UAB’s 47% free throw shooting on 19 attempts. The Blazers made sure to convert their attempts in the second half, knocking down 82%.
The Hilltoppers shot 33.3% from the field and an abysmal 9% from beyond the arc. Despite 13 UAB second half turnovers, the Hilltoppers could not make the comeback, falling in a close contest.
Faye led the team with 20 points and eight rebounds while McHenry added 16 points and four assists.
First Half
UAB won the jump ball to open the game. They kept WKU scoreless until the 16:31 mark, where graduate forward Tyrone Marshall knocked down a three. A Don McHenry three tied the game 10-10 with 11:42 left in the game.
UAB stretched the lead back to five, but back to back dunks by Faye, including one off an alley-oop thrown by graduate guard Jalen Jackson gave the Hilltoppers their first lead of the game.
The Blazers regained the lead three minutes later and held on to the lead for the last 6:30. The teams went into the half with the score 38-34.
Second Half
UAB stepped on the gas in the second half. They matched WKU bucket for bucket to start the half. At the 11:36 mark, Faye made a layup to cut the deficit to four, but a 15-0 UAB run in three minutes would stretch their lead to 19.
After being down almost 20, WKU cut the lead to eight with 34 seconds left, their lowest deficit since the 15-0 run, but a UAB dunk, which was followed by a technical foul, iced the game for the Blazers.
The Hilltoppers will open the season Nov. 4 at Diddle Arena versus Wichita State. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
“Definitely some things we can take to the drawing board and look at the film and make sure we improve for Wichita State,” Plona said.
